Week 8 best prop bets for Giants-Steelers

Wagers to consider as you fill out your tickets

Welcome to the New York Giants betting angle, Week 8 edition! Each week, I’m giving you my three favorite wagers for that week’s New York Giants game. This week, the 2-5 Giants take to the road to play the 5-2 Steelers. In an odd twist of scheduling, the Steelers are playing the second of two straight vs. the New York City area teams, and The Giants are playing the second of two straight against the Pennsylvania teams. All eyes will be on this one, as it’s the Week 8 Monday night game. Well maybe not all eyes, since another New York team will be playing a pretty meaningful baseball game at the same time.

Big Blue has played decidedly better on the road (2-1) than at home (0-4) this season, and in all honesty they’re a heathy kicker away from being a perfect 3-0 on the road. The Steelers made the QB switch from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson last week and their offense responded with its best effort of the season (37 points), at home on Sunday night against what is supposed to be a very strong Jets’ defense. The Giants are coming off a 28-3 home loss to the Eagles, and the score was reflective of a game that was dominated in every phase. The spread is Pittsburgh -5.5, with a game total of 36.5. For those keeping score at home, The Giants have not been favored since Week 2 of last season—a string of 23 consecutive games. Only the train-wreck Panthers have a longer current streak as ‘dogs (26). Who will be favored when they meet in Munich in two weeks? Stay tuned!

I went 2-1 last week, and hit the first leg of the one bet I missed (a half-half receiving total for Malik Nabers). I’ll try to have another winning week, but very little jumped out at me as I perused the bets. The Steelers are fairly predictable. They’ve got a very good defense, and their offense can struggle at times. Most of their games are grind-it-out, low-scoring affairs. The Giants, on the other hand, continue to be very hard to predict. The line this week opened at PIT -4 and has moved a point and a half. I considered making the Giants plus the points one of my picks, or maybe the under since every Giants game except one has fallen under the total, but after consideration the sides and totals are a stay-away for me.

OK, let’s get to this week’s picks. All lines and odds are from FanDuel and are as of Saturday morning, October 11.

Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images

1. Najee Harris OVER 61.5 rushing yards (-114). This prop jumped out at me. Harris comes in hot, with two consecutive 100-yard rushing games, and Saquon Barkley gashed the Giants’ defense for 176 yards on the ground in just over three quarters last week. The game script will likely favor a lot of running from the Steelers, and Harris should benefit from that.

2. Daniel Jones OVER 199.5 passing yards (-114). Jones was sacked eight times by the Eagles last week, and with T.J. Watt and company coming after him on Monday night, the absence of Andrew Thomas and the ability of the line to protect Jones are definitely a big concern. I think the Giants will scheme up ways for Jones to get the ball out quickly, and I think the Giants have receivers who can get open against this secondary. Pittsburgh ranks second in the NFL in rushing defense, at just 81.1 yards per game, but they’re 22nd against the pass. My expectation is that the Giants will struggle to run the ball, and will be chasing points. It might come in garbage time, but Jones should get to this number IF he plays all four quarters, and that’s probably the biggest risk with this prop.

3. Russell Wilson UNDER 199.5 passing yards (-114). It’s interesting that both starting QBs in this game have the same yardage prop. Danger-Russ threw for more than 250 yards in his first start of the season last week, but the Steelers fell behind by two scores in the first half. I don’t see that happening this week and don’t think he’ll have to throw as much as he did vs. the Jets. Also, the Steelers pass-catchers aren’t a scary group. The Giants are allowing 179 passing yards per game, sixth best in the NFL. Take the under.

Those are the picks for Week 8. Good luck with your wagers!